Doctor Milica Matić resuscitates 7-year-old girl at Bogatić pool
Physician from KBC "Dr. Dragiša Mišović" acted immediately with a colleague's help; the child from Novi Sad is stable and shows no neurological damage.
Dr. Milica Matić, a physician at KBC "Dr. Dragiša Mišović", performed emergency resuscitation on a seven-year-old girl who had gone underwater at a public pool in Bogatić and was found unconscious and pulseless. The quick action, with help from a colleague, is credited with restoring the child's vital signs after a prolonged period underwater.
Dr. Matić was at the pool with her husband and their two-year-old child when bystanders alerted her. "There was also one of my patients resting there, who at one point came to me and asked: 'Do you know how to perform resuscitation?' Instinctively I put my child down and ran to see what was happening. The girl was unconscious and pulseless, so I immediately began resuscitation. Somehow everything you've ever learned flashes through your head, so I performed chest compressions and what is called artificial respiration. Another colleague of mine, a Russian, was there and helped me a lot," she recalled.
According to Dr. Matić, the girl appeared to have been at the bottom of the pool for about four minutes, though the doctor believes it may have been longer.
Length of the resuscitation and condition after revival
Dr. Matić carried out resuscitation for between 10 and 15 minutes before the child began to show signs of life. She described the scene around her as chaotic — people screaming and crying — but said she remained focused on the patient. "It looked like a resuscitation you only see in the movies. I was concentrating only on the girl and had an overwhelming desire for her to come back. Everything around me was like a fog," she said.
The child, who is from Novi Sad, was reported to have a hip injury and is now in Novi Sad in stable condition and conscious. "It is a true miracle that she opened her eyes and that there are no neurological injuries," Dr. Matić said.
Dr. Matić also emphasized a broader message for anyone facing a similar emergency: do not give up. She noted that the resuscitation was performed without any medical instruments at hand and urged people to act on whatever knowledge they have. "Remember what you've even seen in films — anything can help. The most important thing is never to give up on saving a life. In this case both of us were lucky — for me to bring her back, and for her to wake up," she concluded.
Photo: press material from the event
